Alone
by Mrs. Roonil Wazlib
Summary: As Charlie gazed upon his family, he wiped his eyes furiously with the back of his sleeve. How was it fair that everybody but him had somebody to hold on to?


The day was bright, beautiful even. The sun shone through the trees, casting shade on the large meadow. Wildflowers were in full bloom, and they seemed to engulf the ground. It is exactly how this meadow looked every summer in Ottery St. Catchpole. Except today, there are no broomsticks flying overhead as the many red-headed Weasley siblings play a game of quidditch. There are no joyous guffaws from Fred as he works in unison with George to pelt showers of bludgers down on whoever is filling in as seeker. 

_"And there never will be again,_" Charlie Weasley thought, sighing.

His eyes rose to look over his surroundings. About one-hundred chairs were set up on the vast lawn, all facing a shady spot under a large willow tree. Charlie's eyes filled with tears as he gazed at the large hole that his baby brother was about to be lowered into. And there Fred would rest for all eternity, never again gracing the world with another smile, another joke, another laugh.

i_He was so full of love,"_ Charlie thought to himself, not bothering to wipe away his tears. Everybody else was already crying anyway.

Charlie looked up, at the people in the seats next to him. There were his parents, sitting a row ahead of him. They were holding and comforting one another. Molly was shaking, her body heaving with sobs. The horror of losing a child was too much to bear, more than Charlie could ever imagine. Arthur was beside her, his own tears slipping down his face. He tried valiantly to hide them, but Molly saw right through it. She always did. But Molly and Arthur couldn't be there for Charlie, they just lost a son. Molly and Arthur couldn't help Charlie.

Next to Molly and Arthur, in the front row, George sat with Percy next to him. George had no laughter on his face, no light in his normally sparkling brown eyes. He had just lost his twin, his other half. Charlie couldn't even imagine how it felt to be that close to another person. Percy, having been thoroughly forgiven by everyone, sat next to George. He had a hand resting on George's shoulder in a comforting gesture. George seemed to be in anguish, but Percy was there in his life again. Even though Percy could never take Fred's place, George was thankful for him. But Percy couldn't be there for Charlie, he had to take care of George and make sure that he was alright. And George couldn't be there for Charlie, he had just lost his twin brother, the other half of his soul. Percy and George couldn't help Charlie.

Bill was seated next to Charlie, but Charlie didn't try to talk to him. Bill was too busy enveloping Fleur in his arms. Bill was always Charlie's big brother, but more importantly his best friend. But Bill couldn't be there for Charlie, he was a husband now. A husband first, and a brother second. Charlie wished that things could be like they used to be. But Bill couldn't help Charlie.

Ron was in the same row as Bill and Charlie, seated next to Bill. On his other side was Hermione. Ron was holding Hermione tightly, sobbing silently into her shoulder. Hermione held onto him for dear life. He was her rock, her anchor to the world. Ron lifted his head to press his lips tenderly to Hermione's, and Charlie smiled a half-smile. Fred would be glad that there was a little more love in the world. But Ron couldn't be there for Charlie, he was trying to balance the grief of losing a brother with the joy of being in love. Ron couldn't help Charlie.

Ginny was next to Hermione, but turned the other way. She was cuddled into Harry, her face buried into his chest. It wasn't humanly possible for them to be any closer. She lifted her head to pepper small kisses all over Harry's face, crying all the while. Harry wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. He pressed his lips lovingly to the top of her head, whispering words of comfort to her. Since Ginny and Harry got back together after the battle, they had been inseparable. Charlie knew that Fred always wanted the best for his little Ginny, and knew that Harry was the thing that made her happy. Charlie knew that Fred would approve. But Ginny couldn't be there for Charlie, she was overwhelmed with the grief of losing Harry, the man that she was in love with, for a year then the happiness of suddenly having him back again. Ginny couldn't help Charlie.

As Charlie gazed upon his family, he wiped his eyes furiously with the back of his sleeve. How was it fair that everybody but him had somebody to hold on to? Molly had Arthur, Bill had Fleur, George had Percy, Ron had Hermione, and Harry had Ginny. But no one was there to help Charlie.

He was all alone.

---

Later at the reception, Charlie still was alone. He was seated next to Bill once again, but that didn't matter. Bill paid him no attention. Charlie was sure that it was unintentional, but it still hurt. He looked around, gaining the same results as last time. Arthur was still with Molly, George was still with Percy, Ron was still with Hermione, and Harry was still with Ginny. Charlie sat gloomily, with his arms crossed.

Who was Charlie Weasley? What did he have? Maybe his dragons, or the Romanian girlfriends that changed weekly. Charlie laughed darkly, with no humor. No one seemed to hear him. Frustrated, Charlie jumped out of his chair and went into the house. Maybe he would be happier if he could have some alone time in his room.

But Charlie was stopped by a small, familiar squeal of surprise from a nicely-toned woman with strawberry blond hair. Charlie looked questioningly at the familiar person, trying to work out who it was. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"Katie Bell?" he asked, grinning for the first time in what seemed like months. "Little Katie Bell? Is that you?"

Charlie hadn't seen Katie for a long time. He had been in seventh year, and she was in second. They had been on the quidditch team together. Katie was a marvelous chaser, even at the young age of thirteen. But Katie obviously wasn't thirteen anymore. Charlie couldn't help but stare at her natural beauty. She looked like a goddess, even though her eyes were red and puffy. Charlie remembered that Katie had known Fred well. She was best friends with both of the twins. This funeral must have been extremely difficult for her.

Katie smiled back at him, wiping her eyes. "I'm not so little anymore, Charlie." Katie stepped towards him, pulling him into a hug. "I haven't seen you in years."

Charlie hugged her tightly, basking in her feminine scent. She smelled like a mix between vanilla and lavender. "It has been too long," he agreed. "But with everything that has been going on..." Charlie let the sentence trail off, and Katie's eyes became wet with new tears. She was really taking this hard, Charlie decided. For some reason, he hoped that Katie never had any romantic interest in Fred.

"I miss him, Charlie," she whispered, sniffling. Charlie held her tighter.

"I know," he soothed, running his hands up and down her back. "I miss him too."

She pulled away slightly from him, looking up with tear-filled, big, blue eyes. "At least we're not alone," she said, looking up at him, almost questioningly.

Charlie looked back just as intensely at her, surprised by her statement and how it contradicted his earlier thoughts. "No," he said, smiling down at her. "We're not."

Taking Katie's hand in his and missing the surprised look that she gave him, Charlie lead her into the living room. There they would proceed to talk about everything that had happened to them since they had last seen each other.

And, even though Charlie had thought differently less then an hour ago, he knew that now he was not alone.

A/N: Thanks for reading, everybody! I know that parts of it aren't that good, but I was really stuck on this whole Charlie thing. It was really interesting to me that JKR didn't include him in the happy ending. And I'm not necessarily a Charlie/Katie fan, but I couldn't think of anybody else. And I think they're cute together now that I wrote this, don't you? Anyway, please review. Even if you want to tell me that you hated it, review!


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